1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dispenser or carrier in the form of non-woven fibrous sheet material to which chemical materials to be conveyed by the sheet material are attached. The chemical materials may be conveniently retained on the sheet material for dispersal in water when the non-woven material is placed on the surface of the water, and, in particular, the invention relates to a fibrous dispenser of chemicals that produces a layer of fibers and foam on the water in a toilet when the sheet is placed in the toilet, said layer of fibers and foam serving to inhibit splash and noise associated with the deposition of waste into the toilet water. It also relates to a dispenser of cleansing material to assist in keeping the toilet bowl clean.
2. Prior Art
In my U.S. Pat. No. 3,383,710, I discussed a number of examples of materials suitable for producing a layer of foam to cover the water in a toilet bowl immediately before the toilet is used. The materials included effervescing reagents, such as a carbonate or a bicarbonate and an acid. A suitable carbonate is anhydrous sodium carbonate in the form of soda ash, Na.sub.2 CO.sub.3, and a suitable bicarbonate is sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO.sub.3. Acids which, when mixed with these materials, produce the desired effervescence include such reagents as crystallized oxalic acid, H.sub.2 C.sub.2 O.sub.4 2H.sub.2 O, and citric acid having the formula (COOH)CH.sub.2 C(OH)(COOH)CH.sub.3 COOH. These are by no means the only suitable reagents, but they are widely available and are accepted for use in the home.
In addition to the effervescing materials, the patent discussed some surface-active agents to stabilize the foam. These included Saponin, licorice, castile or similar soap in flake form, finely divided coconut-oil soap flakes or Ivory Snow in commercial form. As in the effervescing materials, this list is by no means exhaustive.
One of the problems of using foam-forming materials in a toilet is that of dispensing the materials in the proper amount and at the proper time. Related to that is the problem of keeping a supply of the materials where they can be easily reached when desired.
My present invention provides for a combination of foam-forming materials and a non-woven fibrous carrier, which combination addresses itself to and solves the aforementioned problems.
An important aspect of the present invention is the ability of the fibrous carrier to degrade or disintegrate upon impact by any body wastes deposited in the toilet bowl. This facilitates the production of the splash-inhibiting foam at the surface of the water in the toilet bowl by maintaining the foam-forming materials at the surface. If, for example, the fibrous carrier has such great wet strength that it will not degrade or disintegrate upon impact by body wastes, the carrier will be pushed underwater by the deposited wastes. This will inhibit and delay formation of foam on the water surface at the point of waste deposit, therefore there will be less effective inhibition of noise and splash. Moreover, the importance of the wet degradability of the carrier stems from the fact that the distintegrated remains of the fibrous carrier will also form a layer of fibers on the water surface of the toilet bowl, providing additional splash inhibition to supplement the splash inhibiting activity of the foam layer.
Others have addressed the problem of splash associated with deposition of human wastes into a toilet bowl. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,497, which issued to Menter on Mar. 8, 1977, provides for a "Toilet Splash Guard". This splash guard comprises a multiply-slit, coated sheet of paper, which paper itself serves as the medium to inhibit splash created by waste passing through the slits of the paper.
It is also a known practice of some individuals to attempt to muffle noise and reduce splash by wadding up toilet paper and placing it in the toilet bowl before defecating or urinating. However, it is easily verified that such a practice is virtually a futile exercise, providing little abatement of the problem. In any event, these prior approaches to the problem of splash are quite different from the approach of the present invention. As disclosed earlier, the dispenser of the present invention has such weak strength that it disintegrates upon impact by body waste, and in addition and as a further feature of the invention, the foam-forming materials are actually more completely exposed to the water surface to immediately produce a protective blanket of foam at the point of impact, which foam effectively reduces sound and splash. Neither toilet tissue nor the paper product of the Menter patent would have a sufficiently weak wet strength to disintegrate upon impact by body wastes. Any success of the Menter invention depends upon the paper retaining its integrity even while wet, because the paper itself serves as the medium to inhibit splash created by waste passing through the slits of the paper. Toilet paper, of course, is designed to have such great wet strength that it can be used for wiping. Experience reveals that a layer of toilet tissue would retain substantial integrity, just as it is so designed to do, rather than readily disintegrating, when impacted by body wastes.
A further problem not dealt with in my earlier patent but addressed herein, is that of keeping the toilet bowl clean. In some localities that is particularly difficult because of chemicals in the water supply.